By Francisco Salazar
Cruiserweight contender Kevin Lerena won an eight round unanimous decision over Sergio Ramirez Sunday afternoon at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa.
Lerena, who resides in nearby Johannesburg, improves to 18-1, with 9 KOs. Ramirez falls to 14-3, with 7 KOs.
The southpaw Lerena, who had a six-inch height advantage, landed the more telling blows over Ramirez throughout the fight.
Scores were 79-73, 79-73, and 78-74 for Lerena, who has won his last seven bouts.
Promoter Rodney Berman announced Sunday that Lerena, who is ranked number six by the IBF and number nine by the WBC, will face fellow contender Maxim Maslov (19-1-1, with 12 KOs) of Russia on August 12.
The IBO title will be at stake in Lerena's next fight. The belt recently became vacant when Marco Huck was beaten by Mairis Briedis, who failed to pay the IBO sanction fee, thus forfeiting the belt.
Conceding that it was a difficult decision to make given Lerena’s high rating in the WBO, promoter Rodney Berman said that this would elevate him internationally in the same way that Hekkie Budler’s first run as IBO champion did.
“The reality is that this gives Kevin the opportunity to earn a champion’s purses,” said Berman. “He can also build up while defending the belt, assuming he wins against what will be a tough opponent. The plan, of course, is to cash in with a major payday down the line against a big name like Tony Bellew or Oleksandr Usyk.”
Maslov, ranked 10th by the IBF, has worked his way steadily up the rankings, but has fought just once outside his home country, venturing to Kazakhstan four years ago. Interestingly, he and Lerena have a common opponent in Igor Pylypenko, who was stopped in five rounds by the Russian and went the distance with Lerena.
Also on Sunday's card, hard-hitting welterweight Thulani Mbenge (10-0, with 10 KOs) stopped Shaun Ness (10-2-2, with 5 KOs) in round seven.
In minimumweight action, DeeJay Kriel won a hard-fought eight round unanimous decision over Xolisa Magusha (7-2-1, with 4 KOs). Scores were 77-75, 77-75, and 78-74 in favor of DeeJay Kriel, who improves to 11-1-1, with 6 KOs.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
